


A tale of a prince and the secret of Anck-Su-Namum

by Microsoftberry



Category: Fast & Furious (Movies), Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Genre: Bottom Deckard Shaw, Egypt AU, Every historical knowledge i have is wrong, F/M, Hittite prince Luke Hobbs, Imhotep Brixton Lore, M/M, Please Forgive me, The Mummy AU, Top Luke Hobbs, i don't know what got into my head
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:05:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27330145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Microsoftberry/pseuds/Microsoftberry
Summary: Luke Hobbs, the prince of powerful Hittite decides to pay a visit to the great king of Egypt―Seti the first―for the king has fallen ill from a mysterious snake bite accident and was now bedridden. Egypt is now being ruled by Brixton the Imhotep, the most trusted advisor of the Egypt king. Luke finds out there's a mysterious creature called Anck-Su-Namun hidden in the ancient palace of Egypt. A creature of true beauty and fierceness, they say, and the king is said to love her.But Luke somehow finds himself more drawn to this annoying man called Deckard than the mysterious myth, and soon the secret that everybody has hidden reveals itself.
Relationships: Luke Hobbs/Deckard Shaw
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> twit @afterlifedal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was super sleepy yesterday dawn and forgot to mention but i believe this mummy/Egypt inspiration came from reading @Omnivorous_Reader 's amazing Halloween series xD the egypt au part was sooooo goood!!!!

"You have to get married."

Ramsey said, and Luke looked at her with betrayed eyes but Ramsey just shrugged and grinned, sipping her white wine from Amama. It was excellent as always, as the rich trader's son Roman had always brought her from Egypt. They were at a Hittite temple, overlooking the Hattusa, the capital of Hittite. The city was brimming with the energy of the people inside it, and Luke loved watching his city. His city was strong, hard-working, and lively, just like the time his grandfather has ruled it, and now under his temporal reign. 

For a prince, he did not have a smooth childhood as people would normally assume a prince would have, but what he lacked in having a good father, he had a wonderful grandfather and a wise king who looked after him. When his grandfather―Arnuwanda the second―passed away, his father―Mursili the second―almost chased him out of his own country. Luke had to travel long and far, fleeing from his father's menace and exploring the wide and dangerous new world in front of him. During that time he had, of course, visited Egypt, and he became to love the country almost as much as he loved his own. 

Egypt was sophisticated and developed, with its people slightly more arrogant than Hittite's but they also had a good heart. The city was beautiful and exquisite, its streets and every corner filled with visitors from around the world, to trade a thousand things from the markets of Egypt or to travel the majestic world that has renowned itself across the desert. Its king―Seti the first―was a great king that the country hasn't seen in years, and Luke could see how the great king's reign had its effect on its land and people, seeing as the streets were lively with merchants shouting and kids laughing, mothers working and fathers singing. He made his country strong, just like his grandfather did to Hittite, Luke had thought, and hoped one day he could be a king like his grandfather or Seti.

Those young days were already long past, and his cruel father had taken ill, leaving him unable to administer the country. Luke was brought back home, along with the help of his many brothers, and had taken the place of a regency prince. His father, now old and weak, did not say much of his son's rulings or the future of the throne, but Luke had already grown too much fond of his freedom, hoping he could rather travel around the world than to take the throne one day. He tried to leave as much of a ruling to his brothers, Jonah and Mateo, but both of them also had different dreams other than taking the throne, so they did not let Luke off the hook so easily. 

So there Luke was, now caught between the once-hopeful king and now a trapped free soul, looking down at his city with pride but also a wistful note in the wind. He did a moderate ruling on his country(Ramsey would pat him on the shoulder and say he was doing more than a fine job, Tej would agree, but still Luke was pessimistic), and the people loved him as a crown prince for some reason, but Luke still felt a part of himself missing. He had a crazy idea that it was left somewhere outside those borders, waiting for him to come to find it, daring him to break free and explore. 

"It's because you haven't gotten laid in a while, big guy. Listen to your cousin and find a nice pretty lady from a rich house and problem solved."

Roman said, breaking Luke from his own thoughts. Luke looked around, seeing the rich merchant's son picking up an apple from the table. Letty, captain of the royal guard and a personal guard of Luke, has also entered the room. They were all valuable friends and advisors of Luke's, had been his friend since the dark days when he was chased by his own father and king, though moments like these Luke wished he might have done a better job at getting friends. 

"I have a daughter,"  
Luke said, and Letty rolled her eyes. 

"Who is happily studying at the temple, is top of her class and whose homework you can't even begin to help already,"  
Letty said, and Luke jumped as if she had slapped him. 

"It happened only once, and the math teacher of hers is crazy to have given her problems like that. Seriously, what was he thinking? Trying to make Sam build a Pyramid or something?"

Luke said, though even in his ears his defense sounded weak. His daughter was much smarter than he was, sweet and cheeky, and Luke would move mountains for her. Her mother had moved across the sea when Sam was three, a traveler and merchant's blood through and through, and left them on a good note, sending some exotic fruits and foreign books to Sam from time to time. 

So it has been Luke and Sam ever since, though when Sam turned 14 she entered temple academy and dorm where she lived with her friends and fellow students. Luke visited weekly since then, but now she was 16, topping her class like Letty had said, and was wiser than her father in more ways than Luke could proudly admit. 

"And she's more than fine for you to dating new people, so don't try to put it on your innocent daughter, Hobbs."

Roman said, who went by 'uncle Rom' to Sam, and Luke had to admit his defeat. So maybe making excuses of her daughter was a petty move, but he felt more on edge like there was something under his skin lately, his feet ready to spring forward, his lungs longing for fresh new air. 

"Heard Seti the first is ill,"  
Roman said, breaking Luke's train of thoughts, and focus on the chat his friends were having. 

"What?"  
Ramsey asked, and Roman shrugged. 

"Yeah, heard the old king got bitten by a snake or something and now is bed-ridden. Imhotep is ruling in his stead, and envoys have been flooding the streets of Egypt since last week. We should probably send one soon, too."  
Roman said, and Luke jumped from his seat, making Tej and Ramsey blink. 

"Yes, we should go."  
Luke said, making all his friends stare at him like he had gone mad.

"What?"  
Letty said, and Luke shrugged. 

"Egypt had been a powerful ally since my grandfather's reign and we should not break the friendship of our country. We should make an envoy and visit the king with respect and honor."  
Luke said, now pacing next to the banister, his mood lifting up with each step. His friends still all looked at him like he had grown an extra head. 

"WE are not going, especially YOU are not going, you're practically the king at this point and you can't leave the throne to visit the most powerful neighbor nation in thousand miles."  
Letty pointed out reasonably, but Luke had already made up his mind. And his friends all saw that look on his face, and Roman said, 'Damn'. Everybody exchanged expressions of silent horror. 

"The diplomatic visit shouldn't take more than a week, Jonah would take govern for a while, he least owes me that."  
Luke said, his head already quickly processing what steps and preparations should be taken in order for the country to run smoothly in his absence and in case of emergencies.  
His friends were all watching as wheels turned fiercely in Luke's head, and though they said shit about their prince in front of his face sometimes, they all loved him and knew him to be a good ruler, not having failed his country once since his reign and would make a great king they would serve one day. 

"Okay, get ready everyone,"  
Luke said, looking around and the alarmed and bewildered looks of his friends around him. 

"Oh no, you're not taking me,"  
Roman quickly stepped back, but Luke already had a huge grin on his face. 

"Not only you but all of you. I need every trusted member of my loyal lieges."  
Luke said, and Letty and Roman groaned out loud, while Ramsey began to frantically write down things to pack on the paper. 

"We're going to Egypt."  
Luke said, and that was the beginning of the adventure that none of them had ever imagined.


	2. Chapter 2

"Is it my imagination or does the city look... a little different to you?"

Roman said as a row of soldiers were seen walking down the street, and people shied away from them, looking scared or trying to hide. Luke couldn't help but feel his face frown, as what he'd seen from the eve of the city didn't look so good. 

The road was dusty and dry, there were more beggars and people on streets seen everywhere. The last time Luke had visited the city, the city was vibrant with energy and was crowded with people. Now the few people who were on the street looked hungry, weak, and sick. 

"What the hell happened here?"

Letty asked, also looking bothered by the change of scenery. A few kids from the street ran by, and one of them accidentally bumping into Tej and tumbled. 

"Geez, are you okay?"

Tej straightened the girl, and the boy who had a thin face but bright eyes quickly bowed her head to him. 

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."  
"That's okay, I'm not-"

But the girl had already skittled away with her friends, who also looked scared to death and Tej was left blinking. 

"Those kids were so skinny,"

Ramsey said, looking where the kids had gone. 

"And they looked ill too."

Letty agreed, looking around the dusty streets. 

"Actually, a lot of them seem ill and sickly. What is going on? Isn't this supposed to be one of the most crowded market streets in Egypt?"

Tej said, and everybody looked around the place skeptically. The place looked like it hadn't been cared for, and the people all had fear and hunger in their eyes. 

"This isn't what it looked like the last time I visited here,"

Luke said, and he looked around the city with anxious eyes. Though it wasn't his country, he felt concerned for its people and the city. What had happened? The king Seti might be ill, but the king always kept his wise councils and advisors nearby. They couldn't have let this suffering of its people suffering slide by, even if the kill had fallen ill. 

"I want to know what is going on in this city,"

Luke said, and he was glad he got to see the true face of the city which he would not have seen if he had come to Egypt on an official note. They would have cleaned and put up a show for the Hittite delegation, and they would not have seen anything but the clean and glorious side of the show the palace would have put up. 

"We should go see the king."

Luke said, now worried how ill Seti must be if the state of the city was this bad. He heard that the old king was bed-ridden, but Egypt had excellent healers and magicians who could treat sick people, let alone a king. Was the situation worse than Luke had thought? 

"I've put in words to the palace that we're coming and they'll be expecting us. Told them you wanted a private meeting with the king, with no extra ceremonies necessary."

Letty said, and Luke nodded. 

"Thanks, Lett. We'll see what happened when we meet the king."

Luke said, and they took in the last sight of the bleak street before they headed to the lodgings. 

*** 

"This place is amazing,"

Ramsey said as they entered the first step of the palace. Luke couldn't help but admire the building too, with gigantic square space supported by high pillars adorned with sophisticated patterns and pictures. 

Sunlights were coming from the high ceiling, illuminating the space with beautiful patterns and lighting. The space was quiet and serene, magnifying the beauty of the architecture. 

Luke had always admired the beauty of this building, but this time the building somehow felt quieter and colder than the last time he had visited this place. 

Nonetheless, with Ramsey and Tej first visiting the palace of Egypt and their excitement contagious to the rest of the group, they were in quite a good mood until the guards at the entrance stopped them. 

"What do you mean, we can't pass?"

Roman said, looking incredulous at the guard. The guard was a stubborn looking man, and after Roman Letty had shown the guard the certification of the royal Hittite, he looked up and down Luke and the group. 

"No one is allowed into the palace without Imhotep's permission."

The first guard with a black mustache said, his eyes cold as he assessed them. 

"This is the prince of Hittite, surely you must have been notified."

Letty said, her tone calm but firm, but the guard was adamant to the point of rudeness. 

"I said, no one can enter the palace without Imhotep, the acting king's permission."  
"Acting king?"

Luke asked, and Letty looked pissed and confused too. 

"I haven't heard of this Imhotep person the last time he came to this palace, and now he is the acting king of Egypt?" 

Letty said, and the guard stood unfazed. 

"Who is that Imhotep?"

Letty asked, and a voice answered. 

"He's the most powerful sorcerer in four continents, and he's stepped in for the king who has fallen ill."

Everybody turned to look at the person who said that, and Luke blinked. A drop of sunlight from the ceiling lingered at the man's feet, and the light reflected the simple golden necklace around the man's neck. The jewel wasn't something that caught Luke's eyes, however, as he was left staring at the challenging looks of the hazel green eyes in front of him. 

Specks of gold and sunlight seemed to dance in those eyes, Luke thought, and even the furrowed eyebrows and stubborn looking lips looked hot- 

"You call yourself the prince of Hittite, and you haven't heard of Imhotep?"

The man said, and the brief, magical moment shattered in front of Luke. Luke was aware that the stubborn guards quickly stepped back and bowed to the man, but it was way out of his interest now. 

Luke stepped forward, staring down at the man who was at least 11 inches shorter than him. For the smaller man's credit, he didn't seem a little bit intimidated by Luke's physique or the look in Luke's eyes. 

"Watch that pretty mouth of yours, princess, and you might find yourself in trouble."

Luke said. He knew he did not have to rise to the stranger's bait, hell he almost always laughed off chaffings thrown in his way now and then when people didn't know who he was. But his body seemed to have a different idea and jumped at the opportunity to stand right up against that man's face. 

"Yeah? I don't think that little brains of yours can even fathom what kind of real trouble is, your highness."

The man had a crooked grin on his lips now, and the complicated line of tattoos starting on his collarbone and disappeared through the cloth he was wearing flexed a little when he crossed his arms. Luke was NOT staring. 

The man was somehow matching Luke's eyes even when he was shorter than Luke and had to look up at Luke's face now that the taller man was right in his space. And Luke didn't know why he felt so flared up, or giddy, or whatever this energy that seemed to light him up came from. 

"Who are you?"  
"I'm-"

The man began to say, but then another voice shouted, 

"Deck!"

And another man walked toward them. The man was built, had a black mustache and black hair, some tattoos splattered across his arm. Luke watched him come and saw the man lean into 'Deck''s space. They really didn't need to lean so close to each other, Luke thought. 

"What are you doing here with these people?"  
"They're royal delegation from Hittite, O'."

The first man, 'Deck', apparently, answered the second guy. O' looked at Luke, and seeing Luke's raised brows, smirked and deliberately leaned closer to Deck as he watched them. Luke decided he hated O's guts on principle. 

"Royal delegation, huh?"

O' said, looking at Luke and his crew. Now that there were two of them, tilting their head slightly and gauging Luke's crew together. Luke had a very suspicious feeling that he was in front of a pair of picky Egyptian cats. 

"That means..." 

O' said, and Deck nodded. 

"The royal blood."

Deck finished, his eyes locking with Luke. Luke couldn't read the man's face, and the man stared at Luke like he was deep in thought. 

"So, 'Deck', is it?"

Luke said, not taking his eyes off Deck. O' looked offended by this and stepped forward. 

"You don't get to call him 'Deck', that's for our family only."  
"O',"

Deck stopped the black-haired man and nodded at Luke. 

"I'm Deckard Shaw. And this is my younger brother, Owen. And he's right, you don't get to call me Deck."

Luke huffed out a laugh. Everything about this man was challenging and mysterious to Luke, and somehow, Luke was itching to know more about the man. 

He stepped forward, again putting himself directly in front of Deckard. 

"Well, Shaw. You still haven't answered me who you are-"

Luke started, and O' looked at him incredulously.

"You seriously don't know who he is, he is-"

O' started, but then Deck stopped him. He gave one look at the dark-haired man and the man fell silent. 

"You should leave when you're told, prince."

Deck said, turning around and heading back into the palace. Luke blinked. 

"What? You know we're the royal delegation from Hittite, though a private one. I'm here to meet the king. The royal guards and high courts know me too, if you're doubtful-"  
"We don't doubt you."

Deckard said, his voice turning nonchalant. 

"Most members of the royal guards have been replaced since the king had fallen ill. The high court has been dispersed under Imhotep's orders. Egypt is now ruled by one man, and his name is Brixton."

Deckard said, and Luke looked at the man with bewildered eyes. 

"What? How could that happen? Who is Imhotep and how could he have taken over the throne?"

Deckard stopped in his track. He slowly turned and met Luke's eyes over his shoulder. 

"You should go back to your country while you can, prince."

And then he walked away without looking back again. 

The guards finally pushed them out of the entrance and Luke and others were left standing outside the closed doors of the palace. 

The bright hot sun of Egypt poured down at them, making them all blink at the sudden harsh light. 

"... What just happened?"

Roman asked, and Luke felt like he had just dreamed as well. Everything about Egypt was unnatural and fishy, there was definitely something going on in this country. 

"So are we going back to Egypt?"

Tej said, and Luke slowly turned and looked up at the palace. The man, Shaw had warned him to go back to his country, even when he heard that Luke was the prince of Hittite and he was there to see the king. All the members of the palace had been replaced when this 'Brixton' guy came along, and it definitely didn't seem right. 

"Uh oh, I know that look,"

Letty said as he looked at Luke's face. Luke grinned. 

"Nah, we're staying, especially when kicked out and told we should roll our tails and go back home."

Luke said. 

"We're coming back to the palace tonight, and see what the hell is going on in this country and the palace."  
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this,"

Roman said, as he watched Letty grin too and Ramsey start talking excitedly to Tej about Egypt's royal library and its collections around the world. 

So they came back to the palace that night.


	3. Chapter 3

"Do you really think this was a good idea?"

Tej asked as he looked up the palace with worried eyes. The palace which looked beautiful under the sun now looked daunting and enormous at night, overlooking the suspicious foreigners. 

They were now currently moving across the massive stone wall by climbing onto ropes to the roof. Roman had slipped and almost cost them their heads by making one of the confused guards look up, but then Ramsey threw a cobblestone she picked up from earlier to a different direction, buying them time to quickly reach the first roof. Now they were climbing up to the second roof, after narrowly evading a series of guards patrolling the hallway. 

"There's definitely something suspicious going on, and Luke just really wants to see that hot piece of ass from the afternoon."

Letty said, and Luke almost lost his grip on the rope he was holding onto. He glared at Letty but Letty just grinned at him widely. 

"Seriously? There was nothing between with that annoying little-"

"I don't hear any objection to the phrase 'hot piece of ass',"

Ramsey said, and Luke gaped at Ramsey. 

"Really? You too, Ram?"

"Well, he WAS hot."

Ramsey said, grinning sheepishly and Luke as always couldn't find it in himself to really get mad at her. He just decided to ignore the two laughing women and focus on climbing this damn rope. 

"We don't even know who that man was,"

Tej said, who was doing a far better job at climbing the long line of rope vertically than any of his friends. 

"Yeah, who knows who the hell he was,"

Roman agreed, looking suspiciously at the shadow where he thought he saw the nest of a scorpion on the wall. 

"Do you remember what he said when he and his brother heard Luke was the prince? 'Pharaoh's blood', all of a sudden. What was that?"

Roman said, deciding it was not a nest of the deadly Arachnida, jumped over the spot and kept on climbing. 

"Maybe he's some kind of bloodthirsty creatures, you know."

"What? What are you talking about?"

Letty said, furrowing her brows. 

"There are rumors that dark creatures appear more frequently in Egypt, you know."

Roman said, shrugging. 

"Dark magic seems to sweep the desert and the country, that's why the creatures that should never see the daylight or the moonlight are roaming around."

Roman said, and Letty was laughing. 

"So you think that the guy we saw earlier was some kind of dark monster, do you really believe that?"

"Well, they do not all look hideous, you know. Some of them are said to have beautiful face and voices, to lure men and women and then tear flesh from their necks."

Roman said, and Tej looked horrified next to him. 

"God, if he was, then Luke should definitely watch out for his neck."

Letty said, winking at Luke, and Luke failed to look nonchalant. God he only had too many annoying brothers in his whole life, but somehow he never seemed to lack experience in having equally annoying(terrifying) sisters. 

"There,"

Luke said, finding an open window on the wall to sneak into the hallway. He first checked sideways to see if anyone was coming, and silently jumped into the building. As soon as he landed, he quickly hid in the dark corner of the corridor. His friends were right behind him, following suit. 

"Where do we go from here?"

Ramsey asked, and Roman nodded to the end of the corridor. 

"Where the light is."

He said, and everybody turned and saw a glimmer of light from the lamp lighting the end of the hallway. 

*** 

It was not just the end of the hallway but the start of a large room. 

"What is this place?"

Roman asked, as he suspiciously looked around the white cloths of curtains hanging and blowing around the large space everywhere. 

The white cloths, lighter than silk and weighs like almost nothing to the touch, were hung from the high ceiling to the floor everywhere, and it was like they had entered a strange world of silent white clouds. They quickly lost sense of direction, and Luke tried to see past the blowing white curtains to see how to get out of here. 

"Are we seriously lost in a room? Really?"

Roman said, as Letty quickly grabbed his shoulder to not let him wander around. 

"We can't lose each other in this place too, it'll be impossible to explain if we're caught. And this place is definitely magic, I swear."

Letty had her hand ready at the side of her waist where she kept blade, and it was then Luke suddenly heard a low whisper. 

"Shh! Did you hear that?"

Luke said, motioning everyone to stop. 

"What?"

Roman said, and Luke blinked. 

"The whisper. Did you hear?"

"No, what-"

Roman began to speak, but then he stopped. He turned his head in the same direction as Luke did. 

"Yeah, is that...?"

And Roman and Luke looked at each other, nodded, and walked forward, their friends looking anxious and tailing right behind them. 

"Watch out!"

Luke said, spreading his arms to stop Roman and others from stepping any further. 

The floor had suddenly stopped and they found themselves on the third floor of the room, overlooking the immense space of a room under. 

"What the..."

Tej started, as everybody was just as speechless as he was. 

There was an entire expense of a garden underneath them, with running fountain and exotic trees and plants and flowers. Wild cats and animals were roaming between the trees too, but that was not what caught everybody's eyes. 

"Is that...?"

Ramsey started, her voice hushed and her eyes wide. 

"Yeah,"

Luke answered, not daring to nod or blink. 

"That is Seti the first, the Pharaoh of Egypt."

The man was lying on the huge black square marble, with rows of candles lit around his body. The sight alone was startling, but it was the man sitting next to the unmoving body of the old Pharaoh that caught Luke's eyes. 

Deckard was there, holding the Pharaoh's hand and whispering low in prayers. He looked- Luke didn't know the words to explain the expression on the man's face, it was more than words could bear. What was it with Deckard and the Pharaoh? 

Then before any of them could move or ask any more questions, someone came near to the two men in the garden. The man was built, wearing dark expensive-looking clothes and holding a white stick that looked like a large serpent.

Luke didn't like the man's look at first sight and suddenly was caught in a strong desire to shout at Deckard to watch out. As if sensing Luke's sudden desire, Letty put her hand on his shoulder and quickly shook her head. 

As Luke looked back at the garden, the man had leaned into Deckard and put a hand on his shoulder. Deckard sprang from his seat, quickly turning around facing the man, clearly not wanting the man's company. The man didn't seem to faze, he only grinned and stepped only closer, and Luke didn't realize his hand was balled into a fist so hard until Roman gave him a look. 

The distance between the first and the third floor was quite afar, so they couldn't make out what the man had whispered into Deckard's ear while he stood stiff like he was rooted to the spot. When the man finally stepped back and smiled at still pained-looking Deckard, they were able to make some of the words the man was speaking. 

"... Don't want to disappoint... think of Hat, won't you?"

The words were cut off here and there, and Luke could barely understand what they were talking about. 

"What are they saying?"

Letty asked, her face frowning from trying to concentrate on what they were saying. 

"I don't know, something about a hat, guess it must be one hell of a hat if they're talking about it so seriously,"

Ramsey said, and Luke was looking at Deckard's face, how he looked in pain just by being physically so close to the man. 

The man gave a last parting kiss on Deckard's cheek and left Deckard clenching his fist so hard that even they could see his arms shaking from the distance. 

"He's hot, but I know he's evil,"

Tej said, and everybody looked at him incredulously. 

"Are you crazy? He's not hot,"

Roman said, and Tej seemed taken aback at such enthusiasm. 

"Meh, you can be both hot and evil. It's one of the perks of being a villain."

Luke was looking at his friend with a gaping mouth just as his other friends did, but then Luke heard footsteps coming near. 

"Shit, the guards are coming,"

Roman said, and backed away from the curtains and in his haste, he stepped too far from the floor. He slipped, and Luke barely caught his arm before he fell down three stories down below. 

"Ah!"

Roman screamed, and Luke's face snapped up as he met eyes with Deckard on the first floor. Luke could see Deckard blink and then open his mouth in utter shock just as he pulled his friend back up and was about to get caught. 

"Shit, we're trapped!"

Letty said, looking around. 

"Why are there no stairs when we're on the third floor?!"

Tej said, and Luke tried both ways but the guards were fast approaching and it was too late for them to hide behind the curtains too. 

"What are the penalties if you're caught sneaking around the Pharaoh's palace?"

Ramsey asked desperately, as they stepped further and further into the wall to buy the few last minutes. 

Luke quickly looked down at the first floor, and was met with Deckard whispering furiously up at him, 'What the hell are you doing there?'. Luke felt his shoulder bump into the wall and knew they were at the dead end- 

"Guys,"

Luke said, quickly touching the wall with his fingers. 

"What are you doing?"

Letty whispered furiously and then Luke's desperate fingers finally touched some minute curve in the wall and then- 

'click' 

The sound was like heaven's melody in Luke's ears. The wall parted into two ways and a passageway underneath. 

"Here!"

Luke said, and his friends didn't need to be told twice and jumped into the corridor. Luke took a quick look at Deckard he last followed his friends and for a split second he saw the man, Luke thought the man was desperately yelling at him about something. But Tej grabbed his arm and quickly pulled him into the corridor, and the stone wall shut narrowly behind them. 

The soldiers who pushed aside and appeared a second later looked confused and looked around. 

"Where did they go?"

The soldiers looked down and quickly bowed their heads as they saw Deckard looking up at them. Deckard bit his lips, watching the confused soldiers retreat. He had shouted at Luke not to go inside that corridor, they would not have dared to go in there if they knew where the passageway leads to, especially these days at night. 

"Those morons--"

This was not going to end well, Deckard thought as he looked up at the wall where Luke and his crews disappeared. 

"Oh my god,"

Ramsey said as she splashed around the pond they had jumped into after what seemed like an endless slide. The floor had just disappeared out of nowhere and they screamed as they tumbled down to the dark slide, not knowing when it would end or where it'd lead to. Fortunately(or not) at the end of the slide they were all thrown into a pond, and after a frantic series of yelling and shouting, they scrambled out of the water and onto the tiled floor. 

"... Where the hell are we?"

Letty said as she squeezed the water from her hair and looking around. There was no light but somehow the room was eerily lit, reflecting the pond they had just fallen into. 

"At least there's a way out,"

Roman said, pointing at the corridor behind Luke. Luke, though now soaked from head to toe, carefully approached the corridor. There was nobody, just some deafening quietness that Luke didn't like. The air was cold, and the silence was somehow grating on his nerves. 

"We should get out of here,"

Luke said and nodded to his friends to move on. Squeezing and brushing off water from their clothes, they too seemed to sense the strange silence and quickly moved along. Luke spot the torches on the wall and handed them out to Letty and Roman, to whom Ramsey and Tej stood near. Luke held his own torch as far as his arm would carry, and silently and carefully started to walk into the corridor. 

They seemed to have walked for hours before the tension from the escape started to seep away, and they were talking animatedly about what they saw in the Pharaoh's garden-or whatever that strange place was. 

"Who do you think that guy was?"

Roman said as he pushed Tej away as he clung too close to him as he was watching the corridor wall with fixation. 

"Dunno. But Shaw sure seems to hate the man's gut."

Luke said as he couldn't stop replaying in his mind how close the two men were to each other, and the look in the man's eyes when he leaned himself to Deckard. 

"Didn't like the way he seemed to force himself on Shaw,"

Letty said, her one hand not holding the torch on her blade, being vigilant. Her voice was casual but her tone was firm. 

"Shaw was definitely not interested or wanting. That guy was fishy, he was holding something on Shaw."

Letty said, and Luke was glad that she was his friend. He couldn't agree with Letty more, but what could that man possibly hold over Shaw like that? Every soldier and guards they've met in their brief encounter seemed to bow their heads to Shaw, whoever Deckard was, he must be pretty high up. But then who was that man? 

"Guys?"

Tej said, his voice strained. He stopped in his track, almost making Roman tumble forward and his eyes were fixed on the wall. 

"What?"

Luke asked, and saw his friend standing in front of the picture on the wall. Tej looked around at his friends, his mouth gaping. 

"I've seen these paintings and the pattern on the walls before when I visited Egypt last time. I couldn't visit the palace but I got to visit two places thanks to my friend living here."

"Yeah?"

Letty asked, and Tej gulped. 

"One of them was a library and this place ain't definitely a library."

"So? What is this place then?"

Roman asked, and Luke saw confusion and fear in Roman's eyes. 

"Guys, I think... I think we're inside a pyramid."

Before Luke or anyone could open their mouths, Luke heard a noise. 

At first, it sounded like the wind. But then Luke remembered there were no windows in this corridor. Then the sound got louder, and it sounded like somebody was rubbing cloths against the brick wall. The sound got louder and louder until others could hear it too. 

"What is that?"

Ramsey said, her eyes widening. Luke was staring at the corridor they had just left, there was nothing but the pond they've jumped into, there can't be possibly someone or something coming from there, but still----

The sound grew steadily larger, it now sounded like a thousand snakes hissing and sliding near them, until the sound became too loud now, deafening, dwarfing the sound of their heartbeat--- 

Then a shriek and a white-faced corpse ran out from the heart of the darkness and ran toward them. Followed by dozens of mummies in his steps, all screaming and reaching out their hands in the search of flesh. 

"Run!"

Luke shouted, and the night of horror was just beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> every historical knowledge i have is weak. I know i'm sorry, just read this for fun(i hope) haha


	4. Chapter 4

"How did we end up in here?!"

Tej yelled as they were running up the hallway frantically. Mummies and half-rotten corpses were howling and screeching while chasing after them, it was easily the worst nightmare any of them had ever had. 

"Which direction should we go?"

Roman yelled, and Luke just smashed another skull head that jumped at Tej with the torch.

"Don't care! Just keep moving!"

Luke yelled as the mummies and skeletons were coming at them non-stop, and there seemed to be an endless maze of corridors in this bloody pyramid. 

"Luke!"

Ramsey yelled, throwing one of the wooden boards that were stacked on the floor. Luke caught it, and swung it around hard, knocking four howling mummies in a row. Ramsey kicked off a particularly nasty skeleton and Roman managed to tangle two mummies' bandages together, making the following mummies tumble together on the floor. 

"Yeah!"

Roman yelled, but then Letty pushed him aside quickly and cut off the mummy that tried to sneak up on Roman and bite his neck off. 

"Why is the pyramid riddled with monsters?"

Ramsey yelled, and Roman shook his head. 

"How should I know? They said Egypt is plagued with dark magic, suppose that did this to the old kings' tombs as well!"

"What is the plan?!"

Letty yelled, kicking off another skeleton from Tej's back and looking around. They had just entered a large hall after the corridor, and there were five different entrances leading to god knows where. 

"Tej! You said you've been this place!"

Luke yelled, knocking off another couple of mummies and kicking off another one. The monsters seemed to double in number every second and they were nowhere near escaping this pyramid.

"Uh... uh, I said I've been to A pyramid, and I didn't go inside one, they didn't exactly give me a tour inside the king's grave, you know."

Tej said, looking frantic as his friends fought off the monsters while he stood in front of the five entrances.

"Tej!"

Ramsey yelled, the number of skeletons were almost overwhelming now, 

"I think this one looks promising, but on the other hand, if it's a dead end, we should 100 percent die-"

Tej said, looking between the first and the third entrance hurriedly, 

"Tej Uhura Parker!"

Letty yelled, and Tej jumped. 

"That is NOT my name! Oh, what the hell,"

he said, and shook his head, and started to step into the third entrance when a hand shot out from nowhere and pulled him back. 

"What-"

Tej started, but then a series of spears shot out from all walls in the corridor that Tej just tried to step into, and his jaw dropped. 

"What?"

"Fuck you're all gonna get yourselves killed here,"

Deckard said, slashing off a mummy that tried to jump at him. 

"Shaw?!"

Luke said, too surprised he barely managed to fend the three skeletons coming his way, 

"How the hell are you here?"

"Do you really think that is the most important question here?"

Deckard yelled, he ducked when a particularly huge mummy tried to grab his neck and then Letty jumped on its back, cutting off its head from its neck. Deckard then said, 'Duck!' and Letty ducked without thinking, giving Deckard room to jump, and kicked the skeleton in the neck which just tried to sneak up on her. 

"Nice move you got there,"

Deckard said, nodding to Letty who was tilting her head at him and grinning. 

"Speak for yourself, Shaw."

Letty said, and they grinned at each other, and Roman shook his head watching the two of them looked at each other in a silent exchange. 

"Guys, this is not the time for your bromance, or sismance, or whatever the hell it is! We're dying out here!"

Roman yelled, and Deckard shrugged. 

"You will, if you don't follow me."

"Who the hell are you? How can we trust a stranger?"

Luke said incredulously, dodging another shrieking skeleton, and Deckard shrugged. 

"One of the roads you were about to take was this, right?"

Deckard said, as he picked up a piece of bone from the floor and threw it into the first entrance. The bone clanked loudly as it hit the floor of the corridor, and there was this terrible 'Whooosh!' sound and then a loud shriek, and the sound of something huge repeatedly stomping onto the bone, probably crushing it into million pieces. 

Everybody fell silent. 

"... I feel like I've known you for a long time."

Roman said, and Letty rolled her eyes. 

"Let's go."

They all followed Deckard into the fourth entrance that he led them to. As they ran, Luke had to give it Deckard, as he couldn't help but notice how ruthlessly and efficiently the man fought with the oncoming swarm of monsters. 

The man's move was swift and on to the point, his aim never missed and he seemed to know five steps ahead even when he was already cutting down at least two monsters at a time. Luke had known many good swordsmen and fighters, but it was clear that Deckard easily outclassed them, his movement terrifying yet beautiful in its swiftness and skill. 

"Please leave the oggling to the after we get out of this place, will you?"

Letty said, panting but she appreciated when Luke crushed the particularly nasty mummy that wouldn't give up trying to claw at her. 

As the mummies and monsters were still following them, Luke slowed down a bit to guard the tail of his group. He pushed Tej to his feet when he tumbled, crushing another skull of a skeleton that tried to bite Tej's leg off. Tej then put a spear right into the skull of the mummy who tried to bite Luke behind the shoulder, and they both nodded briefly to each other in silent thanks and proceeded to run. 

The corridor seemed long and somehow seemed to go up and down, but Luke could feel that they were getting near to the exit. He had put several wooden boards together to make a provisional shield, blocking the oncoming monsters and keeping them off while he made sure his friends could get a safe distance to run.   
The corridor was getting narrow so he had his advantage against the oncoming swarm, but it was getting more difficult as they seemed to sense their prey was getting away, their attacks getting more savage. Luke had just knocked off three skeletons when a mummy jumped out of the dark out of nowhere from his right, and Luke knew he had no hand to fend himself--

Then with a crack, and the mummy's head split in half, tumbling down the floor while Deckard's sword was already cutting down the second skeleton's arm. 

"Did you seriously not hear me telling you that you should keep up, fat boy?"

Deckard said, looking back at Luke and tilting his head. Luke's chest immediately flared up, and he punched down two monsters in a row. He was not suddenly showing off. He was not. 

"Oh you really think you know everything, princess, is that it?"

Luke said, though he was immensely grateful that he was not bitten by the mummy that Deckard cut down. Deckard huffed out a laugh, fighting next to Luke in that deadly skill, effectively blocking the monsters from reaching Luke's friends. 

"I know a lot more about this place than you or your friends, and you should have gotten out of this country when you could, stupid head."

Deckard said, grinning. Then he looked at the front where the crew was running to and waved to the left.

"Oi! You should take the left exit!"

"Left! Got it!"

Roman shouted back, but then a mummy that had crawled onto the ceiling dropped onto Ramsey. 

"Ramsey!"

Roman yelled and tried to get the monster off from her, Ramsey was kicking and punching, and the three of them tumbled and slipped into the right exit, disappearing from sight. 

"Roman! Ramsey!"

Letty yelled, she looked helplessly at Luke and Deckard for a moment, and then swore and run after them with Tej. 

"Shit, why won't any of you just listen to me?"

Deckard said, suddenly looking tense. 

"What, where does that exit lead to?"

Luke asked, blocking off another couple of mummies that tried to jump at them, but Deckard was already running after the crew to the right exit. Luke followed suit, stepping into the right exit and almost jumped at how cold the floor was. As soon as Luke had entered the exit, the bars dropped from the ceiling, blocking the monsters from the corridor. 

"What...?"

Luke looked back, watching monsters growl and howl at the edge of the corridor but they didn't seem to be able to touch the bar. Some of them who tried to touch them hissed and quickly backed away, growling and then disappeared. Luke slowly turned around, now sure that the mobs weren't following them, and walked into the passageway to find his friends and Deckard. 

"Ramsey? Roman?"

Luke whispered, but soon found his friends on the floor, Ramsey rubbing her sore shoulder and Roman kicking off the mummy's body further away from them. 

"What is this place?"

Letty asked, the place seemed large, judging by how their whispers seemed to echo through the dimly lit space. There were torches lit on every foot of the marble floor, and it gave some eery feeling despite its beauty, as their light was not warm nor bright like normal fires did. 

"The hell you lot are trouble,"

Deckard muttered angrily, 

"Let's get out of here before you do anything more stupid."

He looked even tenser when he was fighting hundreds of monsters, his face looking even paler under the blue lights of the fire and somehow everybody feels quiet, quickly nodding to him and following him. 

"This place looks like a temple or an altar."

Tej whispered next to Luke, and Luke could see why, the place was clean, spotless, yet there was something in the air that made his hair stand on end. 

They stayed silent like that for a while walking, when Luke felt Ramsey stop walking next to her. 

"Guys?"

She whispered, and the fear in her voice made Luke stop and look back at her. She was touching water that had fallen on her shoulder, and then slowly raising her head to see where the water had come from. Luke looked up like she did, realizing for the first time that this dark place had such a high, seemingly endless ceiling. Luke's mouth opened as Ramsey did. 

"Is that... a person?"

Ramsey said, and everybody was lost for words. 

There was a silhouette in the air, at first it was hard to see what it was, but then as it turned in the air, the blue light of the fire illuminated its features. It was a woman, a beautiful woman at that, that was floating on the air like she was trapped by invisible spiderwebs, slowly spinning under the darkness. Luke could see that she was awake, she was yelling something desperately to them but somehow sound didn't escape her throat. 

"What- Why is she up there?"

Luke said, quickly looking around to see if there was any way to help the woman get down. But there was nothing to use, the marble floors were empty except for the blue light torches and there were no pillars to climb onto. It looked so unreal and shocking that everybody found themselves lost for words. 

"Let's go,"

Deckard said quietly, not looking up. 

"There's a person floating in the mid-air, she's clearly in need of help,"

Luke said, incredulous, but Deckard grabbed his arm and looked right into Luke's eyes. 

"I said, let's go. I'll explain once we've gotten out of this hellhole."

There was something in Deckard's eyes that made Luke shut his mouth, and they silently followed Deckard to the way out, though they could all feel the stare of the woman's eyes bore at the back of their skulls. 

Once they were safely out of the pyramid and ran as far from the palace onto the hill, they were panting and collapsing onto the hill they've climbed. The cold night air felt refreshing in their lungs, and they were all so glad to see the outside of that giant tomb again. Owen was there at the top of the hill, looking shocked and furious as they watched them run to the hillside as Deckard had instructed and immediately ran to his brother when Deckard arrived. 

"Remind me to never, ever go near that place again."

Tej said, shaking his head as they looked down the hill and saw the palace and the pyramid next to it. The pyramid looked massive even under the moonlight, and everybody stared at the building. 

"I can't believe we made it,"

Ramsey said, she was panting and on her knees as well. She looked back at her friends. 

"Who was that woman in the last room? Why was she trapped in the air like that?"

She asked, her voice horrified. 

"And why the hell is the pyramid riddled with mummies and monsters? I thought it was the king's tomb, not some monster house for the damned,"

Roman said, looking back at the two Shaws. 

"I think you owe us some explanation, Shaw."

Luke said, as his friends all turned to look at the brothers. 

Owen was muttering something fast to Deckard in a hushed voice and Deckard just shook his head, stopping his brother. 

"It's dark magic. It plagued the country since Brixton had used it to take power and rule Egypt. The drought, the plague, everything that followed for the two years because his dark magic had interrupted nature."

Owen said, his face bitter with anger and hatred. 

"And the woman in the air?"

Letty asked, looking at Deckard.

"Who was she?"

She asked, and Luke was looking at him too. Deckard sighed, and he looked suddenly very tired, his eyes not meeting Luke's as he seemed to finally speak. 

"The woman you saw is my sister, Hattie. She's Anck-Su-Namum, and Brixton loved her and trapped her inside Pyramid when she refused him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol i don't know what got into me, but i'm writing xD xD


	5. Chapter 5

After that horrible, nightmare-invoking night at the Egyptian palace and pyramid, none of the crew thought they'd be pulled into that kind of situation again, let alone walk in one voluntarily. Tej said he was going to pack first thing in the morning, flee from the country on the sunrise, never to look back again. Everyone had agreed with him that night they had returned from the hill and fell onto the bed, and slept like the dead. But the next day, somehow they ended up running for their lives in the maze inside the pyramid, again. 

For their credit, in the morning they all decided that they could not let Shaw's sister hanging in the middle of the secret room in the pyramid. When Luke and others found Shaws and told them so, Deckard looked at Luke like he had grown two heads. Owen looked excited and whispered something fast in Deckard's ear, but Deckard shook his head, his face looking skeptical. 

"You're going to help us,"

Deckard had said, looking at Luke and the others like he knew there was another shoe to drop, 

"A total stranger, rescue their sister under the most powerful sorcerer in history."

"...Yeah?"

Luke said, suddenly feeling nervous as the man's eyes fixed on his. 

"Why?"

Deckard asked, and glared at Luke and Luke somehow felt the pressure to prove himself. 

"Deck,"

Owen spoke up after god knows how long minutes they've glared at each other and stood behind his older brother. 

"He's offering help, voluntarily. You know what we talked about the king's blood."

He said, and that made Luke's brow shot up. There it was again, 'the king's blood'. Luke saw Roman and Tej exchange looks. But before he or Roman or any others could ask the second Shaw what he meant by that, Owen clapped his hands and grinned at them. 

"We're accepting your offer of help. Hatt's been stuck in that forsaken dungeon for two years now. Nothing can stop us from getting our sister out of that place."

And looked back at his brother, and Deckard looked pissed but didn't say anything. 

So their weird, bickering group of rescue group was born, and they were back in the pyramid and again running for their lives. 

"Nothing would happen, you said,"

Roman yelled as water started to pour from the ceiling like a waterfall after Tej had accidentally knocked off a statue in the secret hall. 

"Everything will be fine, you said!"

Roman squeaked, as the doors on four sides of the hall started to groan and shut quickly. 

"Shut up and run!"

Lett yelled, pushing Roman to the exit. 

"The water's getting too quickly, we're not going to make it!"

Tej yelled, and he was right, the water had quickly filled the floor and was already up to their waist. Three stone doors had already shut completely and the crew was running to the last door, but the water was slowing them down and everybody knew Tej was right. 

"The wheel! It's connected to the waterfall!"

Owen yelled over the deafening sound of the waterfall, and Luke didn't wait for a heartbeat to jump to the wheel that was running the waterfall. He arrived at the wheel the same time as Deckard did, and Deckard looked at him incredulously. 

"What are you doing? Get out of here, do you have a death wish?"

Deckard said, trying to get the wheel to stop to slow down the waterfall. Luke held the opposite side of the wheel, and together they managed to slow down the wheel. 

"Speak for yourself, princess. I ain't gonna leave you here to die alone."

Luke said, grinning at the fuming Egyptian. 

"Deck!"

Owen shouted, he was trying to hold the last door open but the stone door didn't budge. 

"Luke!"

Letty yelled from the back, trying to come back against the flow of the water but Luke shouted back. 

"Get out! I'll be right behind you, help the others!"

Letty looked like she wanted to protest, but she grabbed Tej as he limped and herded others out the door that was closing narrowly. Owen tried to swim back to Deckard, but Deckard shouted at his brother to go first. 

"You should get out, princess. I'll hold the door."

Luke said, finding the right angle to keep the wheel from spinning, the effort making his veins pop. The thing was heavy, and it took every ounce of his strength to just keep the weight of the tons of water from pouring out. 

"Come on, I can hold this thing for a few more seconds. You have to get out."

Luke said, his eyes fixed on the wheel from the effort, but he could feel Deckard's eyes boring into his face. 

"Fuck, why do you have to be such an idiot?"

Deckard gritted his teeth and said, his voice furious. And instead of running to the exit as Luke told him to, he looked around the room quickly. The water had already filled to their chest and there was no way out. The room had no pillars to climb on and the ceiling was too high. They were trapped in a box of a room that was soon to be flooded. 

"Shaw!"

Luke said, pulling his last strength to keep the wheel from turning. 

"You have to get out!"

Luke yelled, 

"Deck! Hobbs! Come on!"

Owen and others were shouting from the outside, and Deckard looked at Luke. He looked determined and didn't move an inch. Luke looked at Deckard incredulously. 

"What are you doing, Shaw?"

"I'm not running away when you aren't."

Deckard said, and behind him the door closed with a heavy thud, blocking out yellings from their brother and friends. Luke looked at the smaller man with a gaping mouth. 

"Are you serious?"

Luke said, the water was reaching their chin now and they were seconds away from losing the hold of the wheel. 

"I'm bloody serious, fat boy. So pay attention."

Deckard said, looking Luke straight in the eyes. 

"The room's about to be flooded, but that's a good thing. This room is sealed, and you can see the high ventilation passage near the ceiling. There, do you see it?"

Deckard said, nodding up at the ceiling and Luke looked up, and there indeed was a small passageway up the wall. 

"When we take off our hands from the wheel, the room'll be flooded in a second. The water pressure is high, so it won't be easy to swim, but you need to hold your breath and swim up. You've only one chance at this. You got it?"

Deckard said, and Luke looked down and met Deckard's eyes again. He nodded, the wooden wheel was almost creaking and they locked eyes. 

"On my mark, three, two, one. Let go!"

Luke let go of the wheel, feeling it finally getting free and spinning rapidly. The waterfall started to fall down with thundering sound, and Luke took in a deep breath before the furious water swept him away in a tide. He tried to swim like Deckard said, but the current of the water was too strong, pushing him downward instead of up. Luke found himself being pushed to the bottom of the floor, then lost a sense of direction. It was impossible to tell which was up and down, and Luke scurried with his arms and legs, feeling air escape his lungs every second. Then Deckard appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Luke's arm and pulling him upward. 

Luke followed him, fighting the current of the water and after what felt like an hour of swimming, finally reached the passageway that he saw earlier. They pushed themselves inside it, at first the tide of the water tried to push them back into the room but once they've gotten inside, the water sucked them right into the long passageway with speed. 

They couldn't do anything but to be carried away, not knowing where the passage would take them and feeling their lungs burn dangerously. Just as Luke thought he was done and couldn't keep holding his breath any longer, they fell into the open air and was falling down to a small lake with a small waterfall. 

Deckard and Luke both crawled out of the lake and coughed out water, breathing in air like they haven't breathed for a year. Deckard collapsed onto the ground and laid on his back and breathed hard. Luke did the same, looking up the sky which he thought he could never see again. Laughter suddenly filled his lungs, and Luke laughed. Deckard turned his head looking at him and frowned. 

"What are you laughing at? Did you hit your head or something?"

Deckard said, but somehow that stubborn, beautiful face made Luke laugh harder, and though Deckard looked at him like he was the biggest idiot in the world, he started to grin and then laugh too. They were laughing like that until their brother and friends came running to them. They all looked at the two of them like they had gone mad, but neither could stop grinning. 

"You're so screwed."

Letty said, once Owen took his drenched to the skin brother away from them, muttering something about crazy idiots. Luke found himself staring at the man's back until they completely disappeared from sight, and was faced with Letty and other's knowing grin. 

"What? We've just escaped by the skin of our teeth. It's something to celebrate for, isn't it?"

Luke said, trying to focus on squeezing water from his wet clothes instead of his nosy friends' annoying grins. 

"Yeah, having a huge crush on the foreigner who's trying to fight tooth and nail with Egypt's most powerful dark sorcerer, who also happens to be the acting Pharaoh of Egypt, is something to commemorate."

Roman said, and Luke glared at his friends, pointedly swinging his wet clothes so that water splashed onto Roman and smirked when he heard his friend protest loudly behind his back. 

He was not attracted to Deckard Shaw, it was just that he had just narrowly escaped death, and the adrenaline made him laugh with the guy who survived the death trap with him. It had nothing to do with how Shaw's smile seemed to brighten the whole world and his eyes looked like the summer's green under the sunlight. It just did not.


	6. Chapter 6

"For god's sake, can't you hold still for a second?"

Deckard said, but Luke found the request too unfair and nearly impossible. 

They were caged in four walls that were closing in by every second, and the only way out and to stop those walls from crushing them into smithereens was the golden key in Deckard's hand. The key to which the keyhole in the middle of the ceiling, that was 13 feet from the ground. Luke had tried to reach it but he couldn't reach it without jumping like a madman and the keyhole was too small. 

"Fuck, you're gonna break it, gimme that,"

was what Deckard had said, right before Luke looked down at the smaller man long enough to see him climb up on him. Luke was rooted to the spot at that moment, unable to think or move or even breathe, forgetting to even pretend to push the other man away. Meanwhile, Deckard was climbing him up like a tree and was already hooking his legs to his shoulder. And Luke's arms shot up before he could even think what he was doing, and supported the smaller man's small of the back while Deckard tried to reach up and put the key into the small hole. 

"God, would you hold still?"

Deckard had gritted his teeth as he furrowed his brows and tried to jam the damn thing into the hole, it was tricky because one)the walls that were getting near to squash them shook the floor with their weight, and two) Luke was still shocked from being climbed like a tree by the smaller man, and his hand felt like it was on fire where it held the little man's waist. Fuck, Shaw was trying to save their asses by getting the damn key and get out of this place, but for love of God was the feeling of the man's waist in his too-big hands was super distracting. And the fact that the smaller man had his legs wrapped around his neck didn't help either. 

"Got it!"

Deckard yelled victoriously, just as the ground shook violently as the deadly walls stopped in their tracks. Luke quickly grabbed hold of Deckard's body as the man nearly tumbled and felt the man's strong thighs tightening around his neck and god Luke really, really tried hard not to feel, or think anything at that moment. He was just a human ladder that Deckard happened to climb onto in order to save their lives. A super non-erotic, purely practical ladder to save both their asses. Yup. So it totally didn't do anything to Luke when Deckard grabbed his head and looked down at him with wide eyes, slightly out of breath because of surprise and joy, the excitement sparking in those hazel green eyes lighting up the smaller man's face. Yup. Nothing at all. 

"Why do you look like you want to die?"

Roman asked on their way to the lodging, and Ramsey quietly pulled Roman away from him, giving Luke small mercy of beating himself alone.

How did his life get to this point? 

*** 

"Fuck, Hobbs. If you're dead I'm going to kill you."

Deckard said, and Luke had to bite his lips not to laugh out at that. He opened his eyes, looking down at Deckard as the man tried to clean out the wound and patch him up. 

"Don't make him laugh, don't you see he's spilling out his guts right now?"

Roman said, his face horrified as Deckard tightened the bandage around the man's torso. 

"My guts aren't going anywhere, don't make it sound more horrible than it already is,"

Luke said, trying to distract himself from how close Deckard was to him and how the smaller man was almost hugging him, trying to get the dressing properly around the man's huge torso. Luke tried not to stare too obviously at the man's face, though his treacherous eyes betrayed him and kept fixing on Deckard's face. Nobody could deny how gorgeous the man was, even when the man looked like he was trying to strangle you to death when he was actually trying to patch you up. So it wasn't Luke's fault that he couldn't stop glancing down at the smaller man, be lost in his eyes or that he tightened his stomach a little when Deckard put his hand on it. 

Luke could practically hear Roman roll his eyes so hard and snigger but he couldn't care less. 

"You don't have to take care of him Deck, just flop him on the ground and he'll bounce back tomorrow or later."

Owen said and grinned sweetly when Luke and others looked at him incredulously. 

"I'm not gonna start a war by letting people think the prince of Hittite was killed in Egypt robbing a Pyramid,"  
"I wasn't robbing your tombs, I was trying to help you get your sister out,"

Luke protested but soon shut his mouth because again Deckard leaned in close, this time so close that his neck almost brushed Luke's lips. And god this was becoming like torture every second, quickly. 

"Yeah, thanks for your effort, but I think at this rate I'll see you end up in one than you help me get my sister out from it."

Deckard said, and he grinned as he tied the last knot in Luke's bandages as he raised his head. And Luke was so glad he could blame the shock of the wound that he was burning up, not because he was blushing hard at the smaller man's innocent smile. 

Luke grimaced a little as he straightened up, but his wound was not critical and Luke knew he'd be moving fine in a few hours. They had narrowly escaped from Brixton's soldiers' sudden attack in the alley and had to abandon their original lodging and their luggage. Letty gritted her teeth because she had left one of her most used swords in there, but Deckard promised her he'd get them back in other ways when the soldiers' guard was down. They had moved into Owen's lair instead, needing space to hide from the soldier's chase and patch Luke up. 

And though Owen complained in loud voice many times, none of them paid any attention because god, little Shaw's lair was like a small palace. 

"You seriously live here?"

Letty asked, as she threw down the clothes onto the floor and looked around, her mouth gaping as she took in the view around. It looked out the desert onto which the sun was slowly sinking down, and the warm red and golden light washed over the vast sand and reached every corner of the house. 

"It's my lair, not my house. So no, I don't live here. This is for emergency occasions and opens only for family,"

Owen said, emphasizing on the last word and looking at his big brother pointedly before he glared at the crew again, 

"And it's ONE of my many other lairs. You'll never find the others if you're not invited, which are for family use only too."  
"Oh, then thanks for inviting us, man."

ROman said, as he threw down the bundle and found the most comfortable spot by the pool. Deckard had to pull his brother away from Roman as others settled down around the yard of the house, and looked at the desert that was flooding with astounding pink and golden sunset. They all sat like that for a while, all lost in words and thoughts as they watched nature before their eyes. 

"What are you going to do when you get your sister out from that dungeon?"

Luke asked, the question slipping out from him before he could stop himself. He couldn't help it, he was watching Deckard looking out that endless golden sand and he could see something a lot like longing in the man's eyes. Deckard shrugged, not taking eyes off from the horizon. 

"Dunno. Been thinking about taking Hatt and O' overseas, where I know we'd be safer from Brixton than anywhere near Egypt."

Deckard said, his thoughts about the freedom and the future seeming to bring a smile to his face. 

"Hatt's been wanting to see that king's library somewhere west, and O' said he always wanted to travel around the world, so that sounds like a good idea, too."

Deckard said, and the whole time Luke just stared at the guy, unable to take his eyes off even if he wanted to. Deckard looked--different under the sunset, more honest, quiet and calm. 

"That'd be nice,"

Luke said, agreeing. 

"You could come to Hittite too, you know."

Luke said, trying to sound casual and nothing too eager. But Deckard turned his head and met Luke's eyes, and the idea of pretense went out the window. 

"Come to Hittite when this is over, Deckard. I promise you'll have a new home, a safe and solid place for you and your family."

LUke said, and Deckard seemed to be a little surprised by the genuine look of Luke's expression. Deckard looked him in the eye for a second like he was searching for something, then a grin slowly appeared on his face. 

"We're on the first name basis then, huh?"

Deckard said, his tone teasing and Luke grinned back too. 

"You saved me and my friends' life twice, and I've saved your ass right back. I think we're good to call each other by the first name."

Luke said, and Deckard laughed. The sound made Luke's stomach flutter. 

"Okay, Luke. I'll think about it."

Deckard said, and Luke couldn't keep his grin wider. The sun was setting gold and pink and a tint of blue now, and Luke couldn't be happier.


	7. Chapter 7

"Who was she?"

She asked, and Luke was looking at him too. Deckard sighed, and he looked suddenly very tired, his eyes not meeting Luke's as he seemed to finally speak.

"The woman you saw is my sister, Hattie. She's Anck-Su-Namum, and Brixton loved her and trapped her inside Pyramid when she refused him."

"What is Anck-Su-Namum?"

Luke asked as they sat down around the fire in the backyard that night at Owen's house. The Shaw brothers have left the house saying they had business to tend to at the city, and they were alone by themselves in the backyard, with beer and platter of fruits and dried meat and generally content with themselves. The view was great, they were not being chased by murderous mummies or soldiers, so that was a win. Luke was enjoying a cup of beer as well when he asked the question, and his friends tilted their heads.

"Well, I don't know. Never been an expert on Egyptian culture."

Letty said, looking up from the fire, her hand cleaning the blade with a cloth.

"Guess it's kind of a title? Like given to the special kind of position in the palace,"

Tej said from next to her, picking up fresh fruit from the bowl.

"I know what it means,"

Roman said, looking around his friends and grinning. Letty raised her brow, looking at him skeptically.

"Really?"

Ramsey asked, but Letty furrowed her brows.

"Nah. He didn't even get the name of the Egyptian fruits right when we got here. How can we trust him?"

Letty said, and Roman made a gesture of an imaginary sword penetrating his heart.

"I'm a son of the wealthiest merchant in Hittite, remember?"

Roman said, and Tej gave a 'meh' sound.

"And I hear things, you know. Foreign news and gossips are my specialties, and I've heard things about this 'Anck-Su-Namum' too."

Roman said, and though his friends still looked somewhat skeptical, he knew he got their attention.

"It's a title given to the partner of the prince."

Roman said, and everybody turned their heads to look at him.

"Partner?"

Ramsey asked, and Roman shrugged.

"Consort. Lover. Mistress. Whatever you say. Not a princess because they aren't engaged or anything, I heard it's a place for the pleasure of the soon-to-be-Pharaoh. They said she was a creature of beauty and fierceness, the emperor adored her and the prince fell in love with her."

Roman said, and Tej said, 'wow'. Luke blinked too. He didn't expect that, he knew that Deckard and his family weren't the line of the thrones and wondered how they fit in the palace, but he wasn't expecting that. Deckard's sister was the late prince's.... lover, consort, as Roman had put it. And now the most powerful and evil sorcerer was after his sister. No wonder Deckard got so worried and pissed.  
Luke could easily see how much the man cared for his family, judging by how even that son of a bitch brother Owen was so affectionate and dependent on his big brother. And the lengths Deckard was willing to take to save his sister from that god-awful place, daring to risk his own life if necessary, was damn impressive and--

Luke blinked and furrowed his brows at Letty.

"...Why are you grinning at me like that?"

Luke asked, and Letty grinned like a cat that got a huge pile of cream.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not,"

Luke said, feeling much like an 8-year-old denying his crush.

"Yes you are, it's written all over your face, big man."

Letty said, and Luke couldn't deny it, so instead he took a large gulp of beer instead, avoiding Letty's satisfied smirk.

"So... Deckard is trying to save his sister who happened to be the lover of the former dead prince of Egypt, and now captive of Brixton?"

Ramsey asked, and Roman shrugged and nodded.

"No wonder Deck and Owen are so desperate. It's so horrible."

Ramsey said.

"Anyway. The way I heard, Anck-Su-Namum did some really bad things."

Roman said, and Luke furrowed his brows at him.

"What?"

Roman shrugged and continued.

"It's said she exploited her position in the palace to rake in wealth while people of Egypt were suffering from drought and children were dying on the street. That she is suspected to have played part in the death of the prince, that she helped Brixton poison the Pharoah."

"So that's what you heard, then. Outside Egypt walls, that's the story going on about Anck-Su-Namum."

A voice said from behind them and everybody jumped. It was Deckard, with Owen standing right behind him, the younger Shaw's eyes hot with anger and fury but Luke only looked at Deckard. The man looked eerily calm, and tired.

"That's a load of bullshit,"

Owen said, stepping out from behind his brother and glaring at all of them. Roman looked guilty, as everybody else did.

"We saved your asses from being torn apart alive by those deathly creatures and provide you shelter, and that's what you've been talking behind our back? That total lying bullshit story and you're eating it all up."

Owen said, his fists shook violently because he was so pissed.

"Anck-Su-Namum did not do such things, Hattie is---"

Owen started, but then Deckard stopped him, his eyes stern as he looked at his brother.

"Owen, stop."

Deckard said, and Owen looked at him incredulously.

"But Deck, they're talking shit about Anck-Su-Namum. They're thinking Hattie did those-- They don't know--,"

Owen said, his voice furious but Deckard shook his head. Luke thought Owen looked like he was about to storm off, but the younger Shaw stayed, still furious but waiting for his big brother to talk.

"One thing you should remember fighting Brixton is that one of the many evil talents of his is his ability to manipulate story and talks. Some of the stories are true, the others not. And Brixton will mix them so cleverly so that you won't be able to tell the truth apart."

Deckard said, and Luke watched the man's face. He looked tired, Luke thought, like from a long fight. But still Luke felt something was off, he knew Deckard was ready to fight tooth and nail for her sister. But then why wasn't he jumping at the chance to clear her sister's name? Anck-Su-Namum's name? Luke looked around at his friends and knew that his friends were all wondering the same thing.

But without further explanation, Deckard turned to leave.

"But Deck, you aren't gonna-"

Owen started, but Deckard gave him one last look and Owen fell silent.

"Get some rest. Tomorrow we'll have to wake up early to scout the city."

Deckard said, without looking at Luke and others, and started to walk into the house.

"We don't believe that story you know,"

Luke said quickly before Deckard could disappear. Deckard stopped on his track and Luke was staring at his back.

"We don't think Anck-Su-Namum did those horrible things, that your sister hurt the prince and Egypt's people. We know it's all a lie."

Deckard didn't say anything, and walked again, disappearing into the house.

Owen looked like he wanted to scream for a moment. But then before Luke could call on him he looked back at Luke and others and sighed deeply.

"It's not just 'a' lie,"

Owen said, looking at Luke and his friends,

"It's a combination of lies, you have to pick apart each one of them, weigh which is what, to see clearly when all this dust settles."

Owen said, and then followed his brother into the house, disappearing from sight as well.

Luke and others were rooted to the spot, all lost for words.

".... What the hell does he mean by that?"

Roman asked, and Luke felt lost just as he did too.


	8. Chapter 8

That morning, Roman had raised the question of where the Shaws have been disappearing to whenever they said they had 'business in town' and left them in the house. At first, nobody paid too much attention, but then Letty seemed to consider the question seriously and decided to take the matter into her own hands, which led to following the Shaw brothers where they were going.

Luke had said no, but Letty was insistent that she had a duty to protect her future king and had to know what the Shaws were up to. Then one thing led to another, Luke arguing that he couldn't let her go alone when Brixton's soldiers were crawling all over the city to find them, Ramsey and others agreeing with him and Letty rolling her eyes.

So they ended up following the Shaws into the streets and narrow alleys, almost getting caught once or twice, but then arrived at the door of an old building in the back of the street. Deckard and Owen had entered here, but it seemed like a normal family house, which made them stop in their tracks.

It was the same old dusty houses just like others, and nothing would have distinguished it from others if there weren't few kids running and laughing as they played around, not minding the confused-looking strangers who stopped in front of the old door.

"What do you think this place is?"

Tej had asked, and Luke was feeling too guilty already to have followed Deckard here that he didn't hear the tiny footsteps running toward him. A little kid bumped into him, and when surprised Luke tried to help him get up, the girl was already on her feet, grinning up at him. Her big brown eyes somehow reminding Luke of his daughter, Sam.

"Are you here for the food? Come on in! Quick!"

She said, pulling Luke's hand to lead them inside, and though looking back at his friends confused, Luke followed her and her friends. And what was behind that door was a shelter, with dozens of people lining up to get supplies and food from the people inside.

"What....?"

Roman said, as they looked around the place in confusion as the kid quickly closed the door. Luke knew that from the outside the place would blend in with other houses completely, not giving it away there were people here to get help and care. The purpose of the place became more clear when Deckard had spotted them when a young woman ran to him and whispered in his ears, and Luke saw as the man's eyes widened and turned to look at Luke and his crew standing awkwardly in the front yard. Deckard sighed, talked some instructions to the others waiting for his orders, and walked straight to Luke, with Owen following him close.

"What are you doing here?"

Deckard snapped, looking up at Luke and Luke was still gaping. The place was old but it was clean, and the sections were well-divided and people were getting help from different volunteers, some getting the food they needed for their family, some getting medical help. Some were getting clean water, and at the yard, kids were playing and laughing while their parents were getting the supplies.

"You're running this place?"

Luke said, and Deckard furrowed his brows.

"What's it got to do with you? Why did you follow us? We told you to stay at home."

Deckard said, his eyes narrowed and Luke felt guilty again that he had followed him. Letty stepped forward, trying to tell him that it was her idea but Luke stopped her, shaking his head. He looked at Deckard.

"Sorry. We shouldn't have followed you. But this is nothing to hide in super covert ways, you're helping these people. It's... amazing."

Luke said, looking around at the faces of people in the place. They looked much healthier, more hopeful than those he had seen on the streets when he first came to Egypt. People were starving and getting ill on the street with no one to take care of or pay attention to them, as they trembled with fear when Brixton's soldiers patrolled the city with swords on their waists. Luke looked at Deckard, he seemed to can't stop being surprised at this man, but Deckard looked like he was slapped instead of being praised.

"You shouldn't be here,"

Deckard said, tersely nodded to Owen and turned around. Luke looked at him surprised, but Deckard walked quickly away from them. Owen sighed and stepped forward.

"You heard my brother, go back to the house and we'll see you there soon. You can't lurk outside, soldiers might get suspicious if you foreigners walk around the place looking like a bunch of confused tourists. We were just visiting to check some things, it won't take long."

Owen said.

"You're helping the poor and the kids who can't get food. Why would you hide that?"

Ramsey asked. Luke was watching Deckard talk to two other men and women while kids hung around his legs and laughed. Deckard was smiling down at the kids, his eyes crinkled when he grinned at them, and Luke couldn't take his eyes off the man's smile.

Owen huffed and shrugged at Ramsey's question.

"Another secret of yours that you can't tell us about?"

Letty asked, but her tone was gentle. She was looking around at the kids fondly too, while her face showed how much she admired this place like her friends. Owen made a shrugging gesture, then turned and walked away too.

Luke wanted to go to Deckard and find some excuses to talk to the man, but then he felt a feather-like tap on the back of his hand.

"Mr.,"

A little girl, the one even younger than the one who led them inside the house was looking up at him, and Luke got on his knees to match her eye-level. He was still taller than the girl even crouching, but the girl grinned sheepishly up at him.

"My name is Luke, what's your name?"

Luke said, as the girl twisted his feet nervously on the ground and blinked.

"I'm Tess."

She said, and looked up at Luke's friends quickly, then looked down at Luke again.

"I heard you came here to help Anck-Su-Namum."

She said, she kept moving her feet nervously, but she seemed determined to talk to Luke. Luke nodded, grinning widely.

"Yes, we are. We're going to help Deckard and his brother help Anck-Su-Namum."  
"Please do. We all love Anck."

Tess said, and before Luke could answer further, she turned and ran as fast as she could to her waiting friends, who were all looking at them expectantly. Luke watched Tess and the kids, waved at them as he began to leave. Anck-Su-Namum seemed to mean a lot to those kids, with all their hopeful big eyes staring up at them expectantly.

When they were walking to the door, Roman tilted his head in confusion.

"The part where Deckard said Brixton's ability to manipulate the truth might be right. Maybe Anck-Su-Namum is not as a wicked woman as they said."

Roman said, and before any one of them could reply, a boy yelled"Hey!" at them. Luke and others looked around alarmed, as the boy who was leaning against the door uncrossed his arms and glared at them.

"Don't you dare talk about Anck-Su-Namum that way."

The boy said, he was young but his eyes were fiery.

"Whoa, we're not--"

Roman started, but the boy crossed his arms again, glaring.

"Anck-Su-Namum is the reason we survived the last two year's drought. Our family is alive because Anck-Su-Namum helped us through the famine caused by the sorcerer. If you don't respect Anck-Su-Namum, you don't have a place here."

The boy said, and before any of them could properly explain that they were not trying to insult Anck-Su-Namum, the boy glared and huffed at them until they got out of the house.

The old door slammed shut after them, and Luke and others looked at each other in confusion.

"God, can you believe it? We were practically kicked out by a 10-year-old."

Letty said, laughing. Ramsey and others were laughing too, but Luke was deep in thought. It was when they got back home, making sure they weren't followed by soldiers or Brixton's spies when Ramsey asked Luke was wrong.

"What's bothering you, Luke?"

Ramsey asked when she saw his face, and Luke slowly shook his head.

"Anck-Su-Namum, she's trapped in the palace, right?"

Luke asked, and Roman shrugged.

"Yeah, we saw her. Hanging up in the air like some poor prey caught in the spiderweb."

Roman said, and Luke slowly nodded.

"Yes, so she's trapped in there, unable to move or make a sound since the prince of Egypt died two years ago. Then how could she have helped those people in the shelter if she has been imprisoned for two years?"

Roman and Ramsey looked at each other, looking just as confused as the rest of them.

"Um.. Maybe the boy was mistaken?"

Ramsey said, looking unsure.

"He looked quite certain enough to defend her honor and kick us off to the street,"

Tej said. A short confused silence fell into the group.

"There are too many things that we don't' know about. Not just about Brixton but about Shaws too. I have no doubt they are good guys, but still they keep a lot of secrets for those who are just doing good."

Letty said as she met eyes with Luke.

Luke fell silent, and he remained silent until everyone returned to their rooms one by one, and the sun was starting to go down and Deckard came back home.

Luke had taken out a bottle of wine and two cups and offered one when Deckard entered the kitchen. Deckard accepted the glass without a word, nodding appreciatively in silence.

"There was a boy when we left that shelter today,"

Luke began, and did not miss the way Deckard closed his eyes like he was having a headache.

"The boy was quick to defend the honor of Hattie, said that she helped his family through the drought that started two years ago. Which is odd, because your sister has been trapped in that dungeon of Brixton's since that day, not able to help anyone let alone dozens of people every day."

LUke said, carefully watching the expression on Deckard's face, which seemed to be closed off as soon as the man felt Luke's eyes on his face.

"What are we missing here, Deck?"

Luke asked, he knew he had to be calm, observant, but he wanted answers. He wanted answers from those stubborn, beautiful lips and he didn't know why he couldn't get enough of it.

"What do you want,"

Deckard said finally when the silence became unbearably loud in the room. He looked tired, and he didn't meet Luke's eyes, which somehow made Luke's heart pound.

"I think you're hiding something from us, you're full of stories that don't match. You obviously love your sister, love her enough to risk your own life trying to save her from Brixton's clutches. But you don't seem eager enough to clear her name, or honor, even when a ten-year-old boy was more eager to defend Anck-Su-Namum's honor than you did."

Luke said, trying to read the closed-off expression on the other man's face.

"You said she was trapped for two full years, yet the kid in the shelter said she's been helping them for two years. Why are you lying? Why are you not telling me the full story?"

Luke said, he stepped closer to the man without thinking about it, his want to get closer to the man, both physically and mentally was overwhelming. Deckard didn't move, but nor did he meet Luke's eyes.

"Deckard,"

Luke said, softly, and Deckard sighed, and finally looked up at him. Luke was amazed at how those hazel green eyes could catch his breath every time he looked at them.

"Can I trust you?"

Luke asked, they were so close that Luke thought Deckard could hear the pound in his chest. Deckard closed his eyes briefly then opened them.

"Nothing I can say will make you trust me,"

Deckard said.

"People trust the wrong person for the best reason, and they are betrayed by the most trusted person when they don't see it coming."

Deckard said, and something in Deckard's voice made Luke's heartache. Deckard shot him a small smile and began to turn and walk away.

"Did it happen to you?"

Luke asked, more quietly than he intended to. Deckard stopped in his track.

"What?"

Luke turned, meeting Deckard's eyes again.

"Did you trust the wrong person for the best reason, and got you betrayed by the most trusted person when you didn't see it coming?"

Luke asked, and waited.

Deckard looked at Luke like he was hit by an invisible blow, looking at him with wide eyes. Then slowly, Deckard shrugged.

"Good night, Luke."

Deckard said, and he left the kitchen. Luke was left staring at the place where the man had gone away.


	9. Chapter 9

*** 

"Hey, um, little Shaw. Can I ask you a question?"

Luke asked the other day when they've finished their early morning meeting discussing how to distract the soldiers enough to penetrate into the pyramid again. Half of them went back to bed while Letty and Dom went for a morning walk in the desert with Deckard, and as fate would have it, Luke was left with Owen and others in the lair. It was more than awkward to be left alone in the house with Shaw, but it was also a chance to ask the little Shaw about something LUke has been wandering by himself for a while. 

Instead of answering, Owen just grinned wolfishly, and Luke really hoped Hattie Shaw would be a much kinder, nicer person than this younger Shaw. They can't all be menacing, badasses in that family, can they?

"What?"

Owen asked finally, and Luke shrugged. Owen had little to remind of Deckard in his features, but he seemed to be a weak spot of Deckard and vice versa, so he didn't want to get on Owen's bad side if he could help it. 

"What is that tattoo on Deckard's chest?"

Luke asked, and Owen blinked. 

"What?"

Luke shrugged. 

"I know it's not a permanent tattoo like yours and other people around here have, I've looked and the picture always changes every day. The difference is subtle, but I recognize the patterns always take different shapes every day I see him."

Luke said, and Owen gaped at him. 

Huh. That was weird. As soon as Luke had asked the question, Owen seemed to suddenly find interest in that scorpion walking by the edge of the desert. The man brought out his knife(out of nowhere, just like the older Shaw did when he could swear neither were carrying nothing in their hands or anywhere) and started fiddling with it. 

Luke definitely did not feel worried that the man was going to murder him for asking him about his brother's chest. He didn't. He just suddenly felt like behind the counter and a few steps away from the knife-fiddling little Shaw was a good idea so he slowly stepped back. He was not afraid for his life(He really was, kind of). 

Luke also got curious. It was a simple enough question with no motif, but now it really got him curious that Owen was reluctant to talk about it. But before he could point it out, Owen narrowed his eyes at him. 

"You must have been watching Deck pretty closely if you've noticed that."

Owen said finally, his eyes so narrowly glaring at Luke that Luke wondered if he could even see anything. But the man had got a point, and this time Luke had to avoid the other's eyes as well. 

"Well?"  
"I wasn't specifically looking at that area,"

Luke began, and immediately regretted ever starting this conversation. 

Owen looked at him, and a slow knowing grin appeared on his face. Luke did not like that smile one bit. 

"You're not my brother's type, you know that, right?"

Owen said, and Luke gaped at the man. 

"What? Who said I was curious about his type? And why would I care? And why the hell am I not?"

He really shouldn't have asked the last question, which seemed to amuse Owen to no end. But he had to ask, why the hell he couldn't be Deckard's type? Who the hell was Deckard interested in? 

"He likes them tall, dark and handsome, smart, intelligent and they were all stupidly in love with Deck. None of them of course deserved my brother, but still, Deck loved them anyway. Especially the last one."

Owen said, and Luke stared at the man. Owen looked like he wanted to talk more, but seemed to have thought better of it. 

"What happened to him and Deckard?"

Luke asked, his dignity was out of the window already, he might as well ask some questions as well. 

"They're no longer together."  
"Oh."

Luke tried not to show any interest in the information but knew that Owen was reading his thoughts right now. Owen gave him a look and then paused before saying the next word. 

"He died a few years ago. Which nearly broke my brother."

Owen said, and Luke blinked like he was splashed cold water. He had no words to say and only could gape at Owen. Owen shook his head.  
Owen fell silent for a moment. He then stared at Luke, and Luke blinked, not knowing what the little Shaw was thinking in his head. 

"I am so not going to help you, Hobbs. You're going to ruin everything for my brother."

Owen said, and Luke blinked at him. 

"What?"

He asked, but Owen just shrugged and left, shaking his head as he went. 

"You have no idea what you're getting into, Hobbs. Don't' say I didn't warn you."

*** 

"I know he's all hideous to look at,"

Letty said, standing next to Deckard as he looked down at the yard from the patio. They were at Deckard's shelter again, Luke and his crew working voluntarily for a day to help. They were all having a good time, helping people get food and help they needed. Ramsey was showing the workers how to organize stocks and manage them more efficiently, Roman was reading kids stories with funny voices and acts, Tej and others helped move the food and ran to wherever the help was needed. 

LUke was now playing with the kids at the yard after moving half the storage. He was playing evil pirate who eventually got knocked out by a girl's awesome sword move, lost his wooden sword, and fell on his knees, begging for mercy. Kids were laughing delightedly as Luke fell to the ground clutching his chest when Amanda, the hero, poked the wooden sword at his chest. Luke groaned loudly and fell to the ground and the kids all screamed delightedly and cheered. 

Deckard rolled his eyes but the scene made Deckard smile nonetheless, and Letty was grinning as she watched Deckard. 

"But he's a good man."

Letty said, looking down as kids came running and poked and tickled Luke to wake up. Luke kept his eyes closed and pretended to be dead until he couldn't handle any more tickling, and howled loudly as he jumped up, making kids scream in delight. 

"I know he's a good man,"

Deckard replied as he saw Luke pick up two girls and boys and swing them in the air while the kids screamed for their turn. Letty looked at Deckard and raised his brow. 

"And--- that seems to be a problem for you."

Letty said, and Deckard didn't take his eyes off from Luke and kept watching the man. He watched as Luke laughed, and when the kid he was holding waved a hand at Deckard, he looked up at met Deckard's eyes. Luke's eyes immediately brightened up, as he grinned up at Deckard and Deckard couldn't help but smile. 

"Geez, it's a torture to watch you two. You two have it bad for each other."

Letty said, watching the whole scene with amusement. Deckard turned and looked pointedly at Letty, but she kept grinning. 

"He's clearly smitten for you, and you're into him as well. What is wrong?"

Letty said, leaning closer to Deckard and pushed his shoulder with her own. Deckard shot a look at Letty but didn't pull away. 

"He's not into me, that's just him being an idiot."

Deckard said and Letty rolled her eyes. 

"You think he's just decided to help a stranger save his sister from the spooky dungeon just because he's a nice person?"

Letty said incredulously, but then she shrugged. 

"Well, he would, he's an idiot like that. But this time he has an extra motif and it's because it's you who needs help. He's not bad to look at, he really likes you, and not to brag but he's the line of the king of one of the most powerful countries in the continent, and you'll be dating the prince. What's the holdup?"

Letty said, and felt Deckard suddenly tense up. Letty blinked and looked at him. 

"Deck?"

Deckard shook his head. Letty thought she saw him pale a little, and his smile a little sad when he managed a small smile at her. 

"Don't hate me when this is over, Lett."

Deckard said, and walked away when Owen called from downstairs. Letty was staring at him with wide eyes as he left. 

... What did he mean by that?


	10. Chapter 10

"We have to leave!"

Roman yelled as the wall kept shooting poison arrows and spears at them. 

"Deckard!"

Luke yelled, but Deckard was still attacking the metal rope on the floor that was binding Hattie's feet in the air. They were at the dungeon again, this time closer to freeing Hattie than they ever were before. But time ran out, and as much as Luke could understand why Deckard looked so desperate to get Hattie down, they really didn't have enough time. 

"Deck, we have to go!"

Letty yelled, narrowly ducking when the spear whooshed past right where she had been a second ago. Deckard seemed not to hear them, and when the sword he was hitting the metal with gave away and broke, he bent down and picked up rock debris with bare hand and started hitting the knot with it. 

"Deckard!"

Luke yelled and grabbed Deckard's waist. 

"We have to go!"

Luke said, but then a knife was in Deckard's hand in a blink of an eye, and Luke gasped as a thin line of blood appeared on his palm where Deckard's knife had slashed it. Luke looked at Deckard with shocked eyes, but then picked up Deckard when it was clear the man was beyond reasons.

"Let me go, Luke. I need to-- your blood-- Luke!"

Deckard yelled, and Luke had to pry the knife out from Deckard's bleeding hands and pick the struggling man up and run. Deckard swore the entire way back while Luke ducked and covered from the spears and other monsters that started to crawl upon them and into the exit, while Roman looked around and found Ramsey looking up at Hattie in the air. 

"Ramsey?!"

Roman yelled while Rasmey was looking lost as she looked up at Hattie. 

"Ramsey!"

Roman ran, pulled Ramsey to the back. Ramsey was looking up at Hattie, who was mouthing soundless words at her. 

"We have to go, come on!"

Roman yelled, as he half-carried and half-dragged Ramsey toward the exit where Tej helped him drag her. Ramsey's big brown eyes were still fixed in shock at the silent looming figure of Hattie in the air, the woman's mouth still trying to speak soundless words to her. 

"Fuck, what was that? What were you thinking, Ramsey? You almost got yourself killed,"

Tej said once they were safely far from the deadly traps of the dungeon and out in the open.   
Ramsey blinked and then turned around, but she was not looking for Tej nor Roman.   
She met eyes with Deckard, who seemed to have been waiting for her to find him. 

"Deck-"

She said, her voice weak and her eyes lost. 

"What is going on?"

Letty said, looking between Ramsey and Deckard as Luke and others came near, also looking between them. 

"Deck-"

Ramsey said, shaking her head helplessly, and Deckard smiled at her. 

"It's okay, Ramsey."

Deckard said as he nodded to her. 

"But-"

Ramsey started, but Deckard shook his head. 

"Ramsey, what is it?"

Tej asked, and Ramsey bit her lips. 

"Ramsey,"

Letty said as Luke looked at Deckard. Deckard had taken his eyes off Ramsey and turned his eyes to Luke, meeting his eyes with an unreadable expression on his face. 

"I saw Hattie trying to tell us something while we were in that Dungeon."

Ramsey said. 

"At first I thought she was screaming silently, but then I realized she was repeating the same sentence over and over the whole time we were there. So I concentrated to read her lips, and found out what she's been trying to tell us,"

Ramsey said, her voice trembling. 

"She said, I watched her say over and over again---"

Ramsey said, took a deep breath, and closed her watery eyes. 

"'Don't trust Deck, he's lying to you. You're all in grave danger.'"

*** 

Luke looked at Deckard. He was silent, as he had been for the past hour. 

Everybody was shocked when Ramsey told them what Hattie had been trying to tell them from the dungeon, it became a heated argument and Luke couldn't bear it anymore. At first, all their angry arguments and defends all sounded like they were coming from afar like they were talking above the surface of the water and he was in deep, deep under it. He could only look at Deckard, who didn't avoid his eyes, and looked right back at Luke. Deckard's eyes weren't angry or surprised, fearful or alarmed. His face looked calm, like a carefully veiled mask Luke couldn't see past it. Which shouldn't' have bothered Luke so much, or frustrated Luke so much, but damn it he couldn't control any of his own feelings when it came to one Deckard Shaw. 

The sound of his friends arguing came back to life, Owen yelling angrily to defend his brother, and Luke opened his mouth. 

"I'll give you a chance to explain yourself, Deckard."

Luke said, his voice calmer than he thought it would be. Everybody fell silent including Owen, as they all looked between Luke and Deckard. 

"What do you expect me to say?"

Deckard said, his voice calm and quiet. 

"That you didn't lie to us, that you didn't betray us. That you didn't knowingly put us in harm's way when I risked my life and my friend's life for you."

Luke said, and he hated himself for sounding hopeful, that he was still holding onto the shred of hope that Deckard would deny this, explain himself. But Deckard just shook his head. 

"I can't say that."

Deckard said, finally looking away from Luke. Luke wanted to grab his shoulder and shake him until he looked back at him, told him that it wasn't true. 

"Deckard,"

Luke said, but Deckard stopped him with a look. 

"I can't tell you that it's not true. I have been lying to you, used all your good intentions to help my sister, and put you in grave danger more than you realize it."

Deckard said, and everybody fell silent. 

"So is that all that you've got to say, that you've been lying to us. The people who were willing to risk their own lives for you, the people who cared for you."

Luke said, he should be furious, he should be yelling, but somehow his voice sounded dead to his ears. 

"You saw how she was back there, my sister,"

Deckard said, his voice still eerily calm, looking back at Luke. 

"Trapped, locked away, abused under Brixton's incarceration. There was one thing that I needed the most to get my sister out of there, and I knew you guys were good people, that you couldn't let an innocent person hurt and suffer and let it slide. So I decided to use you guys."

Luke blinked. Then it hit him. 

"Back at the dungeon, when you couldn't break the last knot of the rope that was holding your sister,"

Luke said, looking down at his own hand. The red line of blood was still there, where Deckard had cut him with his knife in his in what Luke had thought was a moment of panic. Everyone's eyes fell onto Luke's hand as well.   
Deckard nodded. 

"Brixton kept many layers of dark magic to keep her in there, and the last spell to free her can be only be broken with the blood of the king. That's where you come in."

Everybody looked at Deckard in shock. Owen looked stricken, he was muttering something under his breath and looked furious at something. 

"So you didn't just happen to get our help, you targeted us."

Letty said, looking at Deckard with both angry and hurt eyes. Deckard nodded. 

"I know how much I've wronged you and betrayed you. But my sister's been captive by Brixton over two years now and I have to get her out of there, out of this country."

Deckard said. 

"If you can't stand me anymore, that's more than fair. But help my sister get her freedom and take her out of this country. You don't have to see me again when this is over, you can leave me after that. But please don't hold my selfish decision against her, I ask of you."

Deckard said, silence fell. Everybody was lost for words as they exchanged looks. And in the end, their eyes all fell on Luke who had been looking at Deckard this whole time. 

Luke glared at Deckard. There were so many things he wanted to say, things he wanted to scream and shout at the man, but the look on Deckard's face somehow kept him rooted to the spot. Luke closed his eyes and breathed. When he opened them, he looked around his friends. They were all shocked and angry, but Luke knew they were thinking what he was thinking. Luke knew his friends. 

"We will help you get your sister out of that dungeon, and we'll get all three of you out of this country."

Luke said as he met Deckard's surprised eyes. It gave him one small piece of satisfaction to see that one piece of unveiled emotion from the man's face. 

"I won't ask anything for myself, Luke, you don't have to. I don't deserve--"

Deckard started, but Luke shook his head. 

"Though you betrayed us and lied to us, we won't let you face the wrath of Brixton when he discovers that we've taken your sister out from his grip. You three all deserve freedom and safety from that man, and after that, we won't see each other again."

At that, for a split second, Luke thought he saw a look of hurt on Deckard's face. But it was gone the moment Luke thought he saw it, and Deckard nodded. 

"We were so close to getting her out tonight, I think we can definitely get her out on the next try."

Roman said to break the ice, and everybody grudgingly nodded. They all parted in awkward ways, Letty not meeting Deckard's eyes and walked past him to the house and Roman and Tej walking awkwardly as they passed Deckard and Owen. Ramsey looked nervously between Luke and Deckard and pursed her lips as she walked fast to the house, and Owen whispered something in Deckard's ears and Deckard nodded before the younger Shaw walked furiously away. 

When they were finally left alone, Luke stepped forward, closing the distance between them, making no room for Deckard to look away from him. 

"If you had asked us from the start, we would have helped you. You didn't need to lie to us, they were ready to be your friends, I was ready to be your friend to help you. Why did you do that? I don't get you, Deckard."

Luke said, looking down at Deckard. Deckard closed his eyes and shook his head. 

"You don't have to."

Deckard said, stepping back. Luke didn't give the man to walk away again. He stepped forward, making sure to let the man understand that he wasn't done. Far done. 

"Don't you see that's the problem? I know I don't have to understand you, but I can't seem to stop wanting to."

Luke said, and their eyes met. Luke didn't know how much time passed, or how fast it passed. He was lost in the man's eyes, and though the man had lied to him, tricked him, betrayed him on so many levels so far, he only wanted to hold the man in his arms and never let go. Damn his treacherous heart, but he couldn't help it. 

It was Deckard who broke the moment. He leaned up, cupped Luke's face and kissed him on the cheek. When frozen Luke blinked dumbly down at him, Deckard smiled. 

"Thank you, Luke, for everything."

Then he walked away, where Owen was waiting. 

Luke was rooted to the spot for long after Deckard was gone. The place where Deckard's lips had touched burning like a brand on his cheek.


	11. Chapter 11

They've broken into the dungeon for the last time. Though they knew it was the last time they were going to see inside of this dark dungeon, it was still a horrible place. Beautiful but dark and cold, Luke could see why Deckard was so desperate to get his sister out of this place. Luke shook his head, trying to get the thought of Deckard's betrayal out of his head. He was over this, they were in the middle of a serious mission and he needed to focus. 

While Letty and others now expertly removed various traps and fought off mummies and other monsters in the dungeon, Luke and Deckard were in front of the altar, looking up at the floating form of Hattie in the air. Deckard moved quickly, unlocking the last of the traps they had trouble last time, and when only the rope that bound Hattie in the air was left, he looked around at Luke. 

Luke nodded and gave out his hand, and Deckard bit his lip, looked at Luke in the eye for a moment before he split Luke's flesh in a blink of an eye and drew out blood. Luke hissed, but let Deckard guide his bleeding hand onto the enchanted ropes. 

"The blood of the king,"

Deckard breathed, as he looked down at the rope. Luke's hand was still bleeding but Deckard was holding it as he watched transfixed at the rope, so Luke left his hand in Deckard's hand. Deckard squeezed his wrist nervously as they watched, and the rope glowed blindingly bright for a moment, before a high-pitched clang! the sound rang painfully in the whole dungeon, shaking the ground and making Luke and all the others groan and cover their ears. Then the light and the sound both stopped, and Deckard jumped forward as the invisible force that had captured Hattie in the air vanished and her body fell from the air. 

"Gotcha!"

Deckard said as he safely took his brother in his arm, and Hattie grabbed at his neck and hugged him. Owen ran to them and the Shaws hugged each other in a death grip, while Luke and others had a brief moment to watch them before the monsters in the dungeon got more violent and howled as they charged at them. 

"Come on! We have to get out of here!"

Luke yelled as he protected Deckard as he helped his still-weak sister on his feet and run to the exit. 

"I think they know we've got her,"

Roman yelled through the rumbling of the falling rocks and howls of monsters, and Letty shouted, 

"You think?!"

And they all ran toward the exit in a hurry, screaming as the fall ceiling and rocks crushed the monsters and mummies as they barely made it to the exit. 

"Did we make it? Did we really make it?"

Tej said, as he patted his own body down to see if he was still alive. Ramsey and others laughed and smiled at each other but Owen shook his head. 

"The creatures in the dungeon were furious, that means Brixton knows that we've got Hattie. We have to get out of this city."

Owen said, and Deckard nodded. 

"We've got an escape route, but we need to move quickly."

Deckard said, as he helped Hattie who still seemed exhausted and tired. He met Luke's eyes. Luke saw the desperation in his eyes and nodded to his friends. 

"Let's go."

Luke said, looking at Deckard in the eyes. Deckard nodded barely noticeably to Luke and then looked away. 

And they were off.

*** 

Letty could see like all the other Shaws she've met, Hattie was one tough nut as well. Though she was clearly exhausted and was in terrible condition due to the years of incarceration in Brixton's dungeon, she seemed to slowly gain her strength and managed to slowly run as they escaped from Brixton's soldiers searching for them in the streets. 

They've narrowly escaped their search and got out of the city, but at the last minute they were caught by the soldiers. They had to take an unplanned route out of the city to lose the chase, and one thing led to another until they finally managed to avoid their chase in the desert. 

Though the land of a sea of desert didn't seem to welcome the foreigners, the sun blindingly hot and the sand under their feet trying to slow them down, they kept going. Owen said they knew the way to the nearest Oasis and shelter and they could take a breath when they got there. 

Deckard helped Hattie drink a bottle of water and Letty looked at them. 

"Can't she still talk?"

Roman asked, and Hattie furrowed her brows but Deckard beat her to it. 

"We have to hurry, Brixton's soldiers are nothing to worry about compared to the sorcerer himself."

Deckard said, Letty saw that Hattie was trying to say something, but Deckard hurried his sister on, and others quickly followed. Letty blinked, then met eyes with Ramsey, who looked equally confused. So she wasn't the only one who was sensing something was a little off, then. 

But they couldn't reach the Oasis nor the shelter before the wind changed, and Tej blinked as he looked ahead. 

"Um, guys?"

Tej said, as the others looked at where Tej was pointing. 

"You've got to be kidding me,"

Letty said, as they all gaped at the huge sand storm that threatened to engulf the horizon. Even the blinding sunlight seemed to falter in front of it, and Ramsey looked pale as she looked at the storm. 

"Is that size of the storm natural in this desert?"

Ramsey asked, and before any Shaws could reply, the storm had the face of a man, as it sped up toward them, demolishing everything in its way. The wind howl was like a thousand men's scream, and they were rooted to the spot as the storm with the face of Brixton came after them. 

"So that's a no, then!"

Roman said, as Luke looked around his friends. 

"Run!"

And they ran with all their might, but soon the storm engulfed them. Luke soon lost the sense of direction, he could barely open his eyes let alone look for his friends. He could hear their screaming and yell from far and near, but he couldn't even see his own hands in this sand storm and large tree trunks or rocks seemed to appear out of nowhere and narrowly missed him in the storm. 

"We're gonna die here!"

Roman yelled from somewhere, and Letty was calling for Ramsey, and as Luke tried to walk toward where he thought he heard Deckard's voice, a large rock swung forward out of the sand and knocked him off his feet. 

"Luke!"

Luke heard Deckard screaming, and then opened his eyes and narrowly missed another huge rock falling right onto him. The rock fell into the sand, knocking Luke to the side as a mountain of sand pushed him to the ground and Luke caught an arm, and barely saw it was Tej's. 

"Tej!"  
"Luke!"

They yelled at each other over the sound of sand and wind pouring over them, but another fall of sand ripped them apart and Luke's back hit with the hard rock, making him groan in pain. 

"Ramsey!"

Deckard shouted, as he barely saw Ramsey in between the pouring sand but in the next moment she was engulfed in the sea of sand, her scream cut short as she was dragged into the sand. 

"No! Hattie!"

Deckard yelled, as he lost the grip of Hattie's wrist as a large tree trunk hit them in the back and they fell apart from the impact. Deckard scrambled to his feet and tried to find his sister but she too was gone in the sand, her shouting echoing somewhere in the distance. 

Then he saw Luke. For a split second of the sand storm thinning between them, Luke saw Deckard standing about 10 feet away. Luke met Deckard's eyes, but then the sand beneath his feet surged upward, lifting him up by the throat and choking him in the air. 

"No!"

Deckard yelled, but the storm kept him from coming near Luke to help, and though Luke tried to shake off and punch the grip of the sand, it just dissolved when Luke tried to punch it and kept its vice-like hold on Luke's hold. Even as he was fighting, Luke could feel his throat burning, air escaping his lungs. 

"No, fuck, Brixton stop! Stop!"

Deckard yelled, as the wall of sand storm thinned and revealed all his friends and family caught in the sand's grips as same as Luke was. Owen and others were squirming furiously in the sand's grip as well, as Deckard looked around them in disbelief. 

"No,"

Deckard said, his voice cracking a little as he looked around them. A swirl of sand appeared on the ground and formed a figure of a man, then it dissolved as the sorcerer appeared as the sand dissolved into the ground. 

The man was grinning easily, looking around at the squirming bodies in the air and slowly turned to Luke and Deckard. He walked toward Deckard, the wall of a gigantic sandstorm blowing quietly behind his back. 

"Remember the night we last met, Deckard? The last time we met face to face like this?"

Brixton said, stopping right in front of Deckard and kneeling to meet Deckard's face. Luke gritted his teeth and pulled and pushed to get free but the hold of the magic was unmoving. 

Deckard was silent, his eyes to the ground as he breathed and Brixton gently grabbed Deckard's chin until he met eyes with the man. 

"Do you remember, Deck?"

Brixton said, and his eyes gleamed gold as he looked down at Deckard's face greedily. 

"I remember a lot of things back then,"

Deckard said, and Brixton grinned. He looked around, looking at each of Deckard's friends and family, his eyes falling briefly onto Hattie and then fell back to Deckard. 

"Remember our deal, Deck? It's your choice, I've waited two years for this. I could as easily snap all their necks on this spot, or,"

Brixton said, looking at Deckard. Deckard was still for a moment, it looked like he was frozen to the spot. Then he slowly looked up at Brixton. 

"Deck, no!"

Owen yelled, squirming violently to get free of the sand's death grip and yelled at his brother, but then the sand muffled his voice. Luke knew then too what Deckard was going to do, and struggled against the hold of the sand desperately. 

"Deckard!"

Luke yelled, and Deckard turned to Luke. As Luke met the man's eyes, he felt his heart stop. 

"No,"

Luke whispered, as Deckard smiled at him a little. 

"Thanks, Luke, really. For everything."

Luke stared. This couldn't be happening. 

He couldn't believe it. Deckard Shaw, proud and fierce and annoyingly stubborn, was looking at Luke like that. Like he had been expecting this, that things would come to this end and he was at peace with it. Not without a fight, not without a desperate, screaming rage. Instead of laughing in the face of the challenge, but with that horrible, horrible calmness on his face like he'd known all along that this was going to happen, and he was going to give in. 

"Deckard, no,"

Luke said, but then Brixton grinned, and wrapped his arm around Deckard's shoulder. With the swish of sand, the two dissolved into the sand and disappeared, at the same time the deathly hold of sand on all their throats disappeared and they fell onto the desert. 

There was only the sound of wind and their coughs filling the air, while Luke watched open-mouth at where Deckard and Brixton had disappeared. He could' believe what had just happened. 

"Why did he... What is,"

Roman said, his voice still cracking up a bit as he heaved a breath, 

"Why did he take Deckard? I thought he was after Anck-Su-Namum."

Roman said, while Tej was looking at Hattie funny. 

"What are you trying to say?"

Tej asked, as Hattie mouthed something desperately at him. 

"Say... name... thrice. Say your name thrice?"

Tej asked while Hattie nodded violently. Tej looked weirded out by this, but he nodded as he said, 

"Um.. Hattie Shaw, Hattie Shaw, Hattie Shaw."

And then Hattie coughed aloud, her body swinging forward from the force of it as the spell that silenced her finally broke, and heaved a deep breath. 

"Fuck, fuck fuck fuck!"

They all looked surprised as they heard the woman's voice for the first time, and Hattie coughed violently some more and looked up. 

"It's not me, you dumbass,"

Hattie breathed, her voice raw from having used it for the first time in two years, as she glared at Roman and Luke in turn. 

"What?"

Luke asked, his brain seemed to have stopped working since Deckard had disappeared with Brixton. Hattie was still here, and yet Brixton had chased after them because they took Anck-Su-Namum from him. The sorcerer took Deckard instead. 

"It was never ME,"

Hattie shouted, tears welling up in her eyes, 

"It was Deck. Deck is the Anck-Su-Namum."

Luke and others stared at her dumbfounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol i know this is not a big surprise but i'm so glad i've managed to come this far in this story xD xD !!!


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